Ri?

[Pahri]

Hi, I'm sorry if I'm posting this in the wrong section or there is already a post on it, I haven't quite figured out how to use this forum yet. I just bought a baby/juvenile female ball python saturday. I was told that she is roughly 6 months old, and she is about as big around as an adult mouse. I am a bit concerned because I thought I heard her make a sneezing sound shortly after I brought her home and was putting her into her new enclosure. I held her close to my ear and didn't hear it again though. I didn't notice any other signs of an RI, so I left her alone and let her settle into her new enclosure. I was mostly just concerned because I bought her at an expo from kick's balls, and I read shortly after I got her home that they weren't the most reputable breeder. I fed her a large mouse on Monday night and she ate it. I fed her in a plastic shoe box separate from her main enclosure, I was also wondering if that was alright? I've heard that feeding a snake in their enclosure could cause them to assosiate you with food and become aggressive, I wasn't sure if this was true or not. I let her digest her food for about two days, then handled her for a few minutes about an hour ago. I was still slightly worried so I got really quiet and held her to my ear to see if I could hear anything. I heard a very quiet whistling noise. I wasn't sure if this could mean an RI, or if she was just stressed from being handled since I got her so recently. I currently have her in a 30-ish quart plastic hefty container with about 8 holes on each side for ventilation. I have a heat mat meant for a 20 gallon tank on the warm side, with the thermostat set on 91 degrees. It generally fluctuates from about 89-94 degrees. I have a heat lamp set about 2-2 1/2 feet above the enclosure to keep the cool side/ambient temp at around 77-82 degrees. The humidity has ranged from 47-58 percent, and I plan on getting a humidifier for the room soon for when she is in shed. I am using an acurite thermometer/humidity gauge, and she is being kept on paper towels. Her water bowl is a small ceramic cat dish that she can fully submerge in, and she has a hide on each end of her enclosure. I usually see her hiding, but she has come out and wandered around a few times. I don't really want to take her to a vet unless it's necessary, because the closest vet is about an hour from me. I definately will though if you guys think she might need it. Also, does anybody have good reptile vet recommendations in the pittsburgh area? Sorry for the long post, I really appreciate your input

[bcr229]

Given the seller I would strongly suspect an RI and take her to a vet.

Also you can feed her in her home, no need to move her to another enclosure, it's a myth that feeding in the enclosure causes them to be aggressive.